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Club runs - 6th March

Posted: 29 Feb 2016 13:37
by WorcsPhil
As we ride gently into the Classics season, we have a full house of B-run volunteers for the next few weeks, but no A or C run volunteers...embrace the spirit of the pave and volunteer.

This weeks club runs are:

A: Broadway Tower - Ian Taylor
B: Evesham - Paul Johnson
C: Evesham - Dave Cox

Intro ride: Led by George Barker to Chaddesley Corbett, supported by Andy Deere.

Note that Nick is leading the B-run for 3 of the next 5 weeks...of increasing length. I believe his impending Ludlow run is via Oudenaarde.

Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:27
by Nicks_77
I'm going to have to apologise and reluctantly rescind my Club Run this weekend, owing fully to my lack of diarising prior engagements arranged by the wife.

I will no doubt re-schedule this new club ride destination in the next few weeks.

Posted: 02 Mar 2016 13:01
by ballintrane
I'll take the B run to Evesham.

Posted: 02 Mar 2016 15:10
by George
I'm undecided about the destination for Sunday's intro ride. For several years, I've led an intro ride to Chaddesley Corbett. It's a good café, the ride's the right length, the lanes are pretty and the interactions with motorised traffic are manageable. There's only one drawback: the terrain. In my experience, the younger/fitter newcomers seem quite inspired by the challenge of climbing over Clent on the way back... but sometimes we get one or two for whom it's really a bit too much.

I've therefore been looking at the possibility of going to Wedge's Bakery in Earlswood. However, I'm finding it hard to get enthusiastic about this option. Although you can get there and back on unclassified lanes / low-category roads, which I would be perfectly happy to ride myself, a lot of the route would be on roads that carry a steady flow of cars, implying single-file most of the way and problems communicating with the group. It just doesn't look like a fun, chatty route to me.

So I've also been wondering about going to a café I've never visited before: Banners on the edge of Bromsgrove. The location would mean that we could use a slightly meandering route through some little lanes that I know and like. However, I'm unsure how cycle-friendly the café is. From the website and Facebook page, it looks a bit up-market, but the breakfast menu is pretty typical for many of the cafés we use. Does anyone have any experience of this place?

A long time ago, I took an intro ride to the Jinny Ring, but I went off the café there due to the focus of the menu shifting away from hot snacks of the kind we usually eat on Sunday mornings and towards meals instead. Is that grumble currently valid?

Do we yet know anything about the newcomers expected on Sunday -- their age, experience levels, etc? If they look like fairly capable folk, would I be better off sticking with my tried and tested option, i.e. Chaddesley?

Posted: 02 Mar 2016 15:18
by Philip Whiteman
George,

This is not quite answering your question, but here is an alternative that is less hilly than Chaddesley.

There is a cafe at the top of Ditchford Bank near Hanbury. It is a greasy spoon which is fairly popular with cyclists.

http://www.fisheries.co.uk/broadacres/index.htm

Regards

Philip

Posted: 02 Mar 2016 15:39
by George
Cheers, Phil. That's certainly an option worth exploring.

Posted: 02 Mar 2016 17:56
by petemarshall
My own view George is that your intro ride, which I assisted on, was the best I have been on.
I led one shortly afterwards which went to the Stable's (near Wedges) and had to make it quite complex to find all the types of roads, ascents and descents, rider's might come across on a club run. Your route did this. Those who struggled would struggle even more on a C ride and have to get a basic level of fitness before coming on them. Make the intro rides even less challenged and it will mean more people being dropped on C ride's and more time spent waiting around for riders just not prepared.
The pace, distances of our Sunday rides are all pretty clear.
Surely the idea of an intro ride is to give riders the idea of what a club ride is like? This includes going up the odd hill .

Posted: 02 Mar 2016 18:55
by Andy Terry
petemarshall wrote:Surely the idea of an intro ride is to give riders the idea of what a club ride is like? This includes going up the odd hill .
Hear hear!

Posted: 03 Mar 2016 09:43
by George
Thanks for the positive feedback, Pete and Andy.

All things considered, I think I'm inclined to stick with the familiar formula. Phil's café suggestion looks good (my ears always prick up whenever the words 'greasy spoon' are mentioned), and that destination could be used with a very similar fist 20km from the BH, plus some nice little lanes thereafter. However, I think maybe I'd be more comfortable having first checked out the venue. Also, if we came back by a direct route from the south, avoiding main roads for the last 5km could be difficult.

Chaddeley Corbett it is!

Posted: 04 Mar 2016 01:29
by Dave Cox
I'll lead a longish but steady C ride to Evesham. If it should be icy we'll head out on the A441

Posted: 04 Mar 2016 10:26
by John D
Dave, thanks for stepping up, you beat me to it so i'll put my name down for Worcester Country park on 20th March

Posted: 05 Mar 2016 13:52
by IanT
I'll lead the A run to Broadway Tower.

Posted: 05 Mar 2016 15:31
by Philip Whiteman
George, we will be hauling Mr Tomble around in the trailer, so will meet you at Rowberrys. I guess that around 11am is the best time.

Correction: Weather warning for icy conditions, so shall head for Wyre Forest instead.

Posted: 05 Mar 2016 20:42
by George
Philip Whiteman wrote:George, we will be hauling Mr Tomble around in the trailer, so will meet you at Rowberrys. I guess that around 11am is the best time.

Correction: Weather warning for icy conditions, so shall head for Wyre Forest instead.
Okay, Phil, have a good time.

BBC is currently saying temperatures will briefly touch zero, but should be 2 or 3 C by the time we start. We'll need to look out for slippery patches where there's been no sun, but I'm reasonably confident that the planned route can be used, providing care is exercised early on, and that by mid/late morning any lingering frost will be gone.

Naturally, all plans are subject to on-the-spot review, since the forecasters don't always get it right.

Posted: 06 Mar 2016 15:14
by ballintrane
On today's B run to Evesham
Paul Johnson(L)
Andy Wrightson
Joe Warwood
Claire Fudge
Alan Weaver

Posted: 06 Mar 2016 15:16
by Dave Cox
C Run to Evesham

Dave Cox (Leading)
Mark McConkey
Colin Hall
Simon Turner (Sweeper 1)
Leonie Balden
Rob Parker
Tom Muirhead
Ryan Evanson
Dennis Snape
Rob Parker
John Deeley (Sweeper 2)
Pete Norma (Sweeper 3)

Thanks all

Posted: 06 Mar 2016 16:54
by Simmo
Cheers Dave great route good to get miles in the legs too

Posted: 06 Mar 2016 16:57
by IanT
A run to Broadway Tower:

Ian Taylor (L)
Matt Reagan
Keith Adcock
Steve Philpott

Posted: 06 Mar 2016 17:25
by George
On today's intro ride:

George Barker (leading)
Andy Deere (riding shotgun)
Simon Harrison
Simon Foale
Henry Witkowski

We were joined at the café by Mick Cullinan, who rode a large part of the way back with us.

It was a small group, but probably the most balanced group I've had on an intro ride. No one struggled and we didn't need any pauses to regroup, enabling us to get back to the BH by about 13:00. My thanks to Andy for his support. My compliments to our three guests on a ride well ridden -- hope to see you again soon.

Posted: 07 Mar 2016 11:04
by John D
Dave, thanks for leading yesterday, excellent route and great company as ever

Posted: 07 Mar 2016 11:44
by Jens
George wrote:
So I've also been wondering about going to a café I've never visited before: Banners on the edge of Bromsgrove. The location would mean that we could use a slightly meandering route through some little lanes that I know and like. However, I'm unsure how cycle-friendly the café is. From the website and Facebook page, it looks a bit up-market, but the breakfast menu is pretty typical for many of the cafés we use. Does anyone have any experience of this place?

A long time ago, I took an intro ride to the Jinny Ring, but I went off the café there due to the focus of the menu shifting away from hot snacks of the kind we usually eat on Sunday mornings and towards meals instead. Is that grumble currently valid?
I live a couple hundred yards away from Banners.. It is a bit more up market, and there is nowhere to store or lock away bikes.. They do have a shop next door, also which has outside seating (6 picnic benches) under cover, that does full breakfasts, and hot snacks etc (Sunday lunch to take away also) so that might be an option for a smaller group.

Jinny ring, you can get coffee, cake, and bacon rolls etc, and is popular for other cycling clubs / groups.. (there was a group of 20+ there two weekends back) with no complaints from Jinny Ring..

Posted: 07 Mar 2016 12:41
by George
Jens wrote:I live a couple hundred yards away from Banners.. It is a bit more up market, and there is nowhere to store or lock away bikes.. They do have a shop next door, also which has outside seating (6 picnic benches) under cover, that does full breakfasts, and hot snacks etc (Sunday lunch to take away also) so that might be an option for a smaller group.

Jinny ring, you can get coffee, cake, and bacon rolls etc, and is popular for other cycling clubs / groups.. (there was a group of 20+ there two weekends back) with no complaints from Jinny Ring..
Thanks, Jens. I'll bear all that in mind for next time.

Posted: 07 Mar 2016 17:39
by Dave Cox
Also I used the Edwardian Tea Room at Avoncroft a while back you dont have to pay to get into the cafe but need locks for bikes